Product Reviews
Brother HL-2170W
Laser Printer with Wireless and Wired Networking
Average Customer Rating:
Rating Snapshot (68 reviews)
5 stars
38
4 stars
13
3 stars
4
2 stars
4
1 star
9
54 of 68(79%)people would recommend this product.
Customer Reviews for HL-2170W
Review 1 for HL-2170W
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Wireless
Date:November 27, 2011
By Motaspider
from Palmdale
Horrible printEr I wish I never bought it. Doesn't do great wireless iTs he'll to set up. You will have to hire a thirds party tech and even them they had trouble with this printer,
Expertise: Professional or Expert
Use: Home Office (Business Use)
Brother products owned: 2
1 of 1 found this review helpful.
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Review 2 for HL-2170W
Overall Rating:
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Great Printer
Date:November 3, 2011
By ALYSON
I have used this for a few years now. It is wonderful. I do agree with the "wireless network" complaints because it does fall off the network frequently. So if you really need wireless, find a newer model - they say the ones with internal wireless cards are better. HOWEVER, that said - this actually prints FAST and wonderfully. I have NEVER had a better black and white printer. It doesn't jam and is easy to refill the paper and toner. It also prints special items like envelopes and labels with ease. So just buy a cable and plug it directly into your pc, and forget that it has a wireless capability. You'll be glad you did.
Expertise: Hobbyist/Enthusiast
Use: Home Office (Business Use)
Brother products owned: 4
1 of 1 found this review helpful.
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Review 3 for HL-2170W
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out of
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worst piece of machinery I have ever seen
Date:August 9, 2011
By derek
this is a piece of junk. First of all it only has one button, how could that ever be good? next, the network connecting is horrible. people will say it's easy if you just follow the setup. well i've followed the setup perfectly 435 times. it doesn't work. especially with new software. it's old and useless. brother did not think ahead when making this. nothing on it is up to date and has no way of getting that way. don't buy this, don't even buy another model. buy a different BRAND!
3 of 7 found this review helpful.
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Review 4 for HL-2170W
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out of
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Would love it if it didn't drop offline all the ti
Date:May 14, 2011
By Skitt
from Los Angeles, CA
If I didn't have a new toner cartridge waiting in the wings, I would be out shopping for a new wireless printer. This is a nice little workhorse laser printer, but it has dropped off my network several times for no good reason.
Initial set up was okay, but resetting it involves changing IP addresses, etc. I've gone through this several times and it's such a monumental waste of an hour. When I need to print, I don't want to spend time resetting the network connection.
Expertise: Advanced Amateur
Use: Home Office (Business Use)
Brother products owned: 3
3 of 4 found this review helpful.
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Review 5 for HL-2170W
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You need to learn to read!!!
Date:November 7, 2010
By Sandito
from New Port Richey
If all you cry babies having a hard time setting up wireless would read and follow directions, the setup is simple as pie.
I boughr a refurb and the toner ran out quickly. The new toner has lasted a long time and I am more than satisfied.
Buy this product. It is inexpensive to run compared to the ink jets.
I boughr a refurb and the toner ran out quickly. The new toner has lasted a long time and I am more than satisfied.
Buy this product. It is inexpensive to run compared to the ink jets.
Expertise: Advanced Amateur
Use: Home Office (Business Use)
Brother products owned: 1
8 of 17 found this review helpful.
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Review 6 for HL-2170W
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WORST printer EVER
Date:October 9, 2010
By DissatisfiedCustomer
I have been an IT manager for 25 years and used probably over 100 different printers. This is by far the worst printer ever. Not only is it pretty difficult to configure for anyone but once it is configured it drops off your network all the time and it has the worst settings possible. Trust me, DO NOT BUY IT, and spend your money somewhere else.
8 of 23 found this review helpful.
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Review 7 for HL-2170W
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out of
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Works great in Linux!
Date:September 23, 2010
By Larry
from Oklahoma City, OK
I bought this to use with Linux and I was not disappointed. Brother has awesome Linux support.
Expertise: Hobbyist/Enthusiast
Use: Home (Personal Use)
Brother products owned: 1
2 of 4 found this review helpful.
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Review 8 for HL-2170W
Overall Rating:
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out of
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great printer for the price
Date:September 15, 2010
By Anonymous
from middletown, ct
print fast, reliable so far, great price for a wireless printer, good customer service
Expertise: Casual User
Use: Home (Personal Use)
Brother products owned: 1
3 of 4 found this review helpful.
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Review 9 for HL-2170W
Overall Rating:
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out of
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Happy So Far!
Date:September 3, 2010
By printingfool
from Suburbs of Illinois
After I figured out my handwriting and typed the correct network password (63 Char), I was able to easily install the wireless function. Follow the instructions to the letter and you won't go wrong. Prints nice and so far, so good!
Expertise: Hobbyist/Enthusiast
Use: Home (Personal Use)
Brother products owned: 1
2 of 2 found this review helpful.
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Review 10 for HL-2170W
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Superior to my HP2600N
Date:September 1, 2010
By primordius
from Dekalb, IL
First, short summary.
Network Setup = Simple.
Windows7 client = Auto Detect
Ubuntu 10.04 client = Auto Detect
Overall = Fantastic
Network Setup = Simple.
Windows7 client = Auto Detect
Ubuntu 10.04 client = Auto Detect
Overall = Fantastic
Bought this printer to replace my color HP2600N that was out of toner and I didn't want to spend over $100 on new toner. The HP used color toner even for B/W prints, which irritated me. HP printer was VERY heavy. This Brother is light and takes far less space.
I primarily print in B/W. The lack of color was actually a feature I was looking for in a printer. B/W toner is much cheaper than color toner.
The network setup (wired) was a breeze. Plugged it in, printed a config sheet, then pointed my browser to the IP address. The printer setup and network setup was very straightforward.
Windows 7 automatically detected the printer by IP Address, found the drivers, and even installed an icon for the printer that looked exactly like it.
Ubuntu Linux (10.04) automatically detected the printer and installed the drivers as well.
Test pages for each Operating System were crisp and clean and printed very fast.
Documents printed are just as good, clear text. Not the best for images, but that is not the reason I purchased the printer.
Expertise: Professional or Expert
Use: Home Office (Business Use)
Brother products owned: 2
7 of 7 found this review helpful.
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Review 11 for HL-2170W
Overall Rating:
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out of
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Best little Laser printer I have ever owned
Date:August 9, 2010
By Joel
from Utah
I have owned or used many printers for my business and personal use over the years. This little printer is a trouble-free workhorse. To find such a reliable network printer for such a modest price was quite a pleasant surprise. The operating cost is very low also. The wireless networking feature works flawlessly. Those who have reported problems with it must not be following the instructions carefully. I rarely take the time to write product reviews, but in this case I wanted to make an exception. This is one great little economical laser printer.
Expertise: Advanced Amateur
Use: Home Office (Business Use)
Brother products owned: 1
3 of 3 found this review helpful.
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Review 12 for HL-2170W
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out of
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Seriously Pleased with this Printer
Date:July 28, 2010
By NixImages
from Rochester, NY
To be honest, I bought this printer 2nd hand and really wasn't expecting much; boy was I surprised.
I'm a photographer and was using my photo printer to print invoices and class training documents. I decided to get this printer to do just B&W documents; this is a great little printer. Page-for-page the toner is less expensive than the black ink in my photo printer and the speed is remarkable. I've demo'd this little gem to a number of other small businesses who ultimately purchased one.
The only downside is that it wrinkles envelopes so it's not really suited for that purpose, but then in one of my clients offices they have a Xerox that cost them a couple of grand and they complained it wrinkled envelopes as well. The only reason I'm not giving this printer 5-stars is because of the envelopes, otherwise this is a winner. Oh yea, the wireless rocks.
In a previous occupation I worked with all makes & models of inkjet and laser printers and quite frankly the Brother brand has been the most reliable and affordable. And unlike others, they don't gouge you for the toner.
Expertise: Professional or Expert
Use: Home Office (Business Use)
Brother products owned: 3
3 of 3 found this review helpful.
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Review 13 for HL-2170W
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out of
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Network, No!
Date:July 27, 2010
By gerdjo
Prints great by usb. Worked one day as a network printer. Have reset to factory, uninstalled software and followed online troubleshoot at least ten times, printer won't show on network!
Expertise: Advanced Amateur
Use: Home Office (Business Use)
Brother products owned: 1
0 of 1 found this review helpful.
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Review 14 for HL-2170W
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Worse
Date:July 21, 2010
By Anonymous
from PR
I buy this printer in february 2010 in june 21 2010 a have a problem with the drum there garanty is only 90 days the life of the drum is the right for the garranty and I used only for ,not a heavy use. I call to brother for fixed the problem and they made worse becuase now I need to buy a new drum. The price for the drum is $109.00 in Office Max the printer price $150.00 is the worse printer I ever buy. Is my first experience with Brother and the last. I don't recommed to by this printer. HP is better.
Expertise: Advanced Amateur
Use: Home (Personal Use)
Brother products owned: 1
4 of 6 found this review helpful.
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Review 15 for HL-2170W
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out of
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would not buy again
Date:July 13, 2010
By arcticcatmatt
I would buy one that is easier to setup, this one has a huge history of being a pain to setup with wireless. Everyone that buys it gets it to work but it takes days of screwing around. Printer works fine but starter toner lasted 50 printing labels for ebay. This printer took me many days to set up wireless. Took my mom and dad weeks! Seting up wireless was a JOKE! It sucked!!!! And I am very computer literate.
Expertise: Advanced Amateur
Use: Home Office (Business Use)
Brother products owned: 2
2 of 3 found this review helpful.
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Review 16 for HL-2170W
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hl-2170w
Date:July 10, 2010
By chrchi
from San Bernardino, CA
I think that it's one of the best little printers there is.
Expertise: Casual User
Use: Home (Personal Use)
Brother products owned: 1
0 of 1 found this review helpful.
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Review 17 for HL-2170W
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HL-2170W is a great value
Date:July 10, 2010
By Kale
from Fremotn, CA
I've owned HP IIp, Lexmark, Brother HL-1240, Samsung, and now this Brother HL-2170w. I've been wanting network printing for some time now. When my Samsung needed a new toner cartridge and I saw this printer on special, I bought it. It is smaller, faster, quieter, and less expensive than the Samsung it replaced. I did not have to connect via USB, instead I went directly to a wired network connection to my home network. Driver install was smooth however printing did not work. A troubleshooting utility downloaded from the Brother website solved the problem. I had to load the drivers and run the troubleshooting utility on all my computers but now I can print from any of them including my wife's laptop when she is wirelessly connected to my home network. Brother should include the utility as part of the drivers or at least on the CD. Overall a very good product. I'm satisfied with my purchase.
Expertise: Hobbyist/Enthusiast
Use: Home (Personal Use)
Brother products owned: 4
1 of 1 found this review helpful.
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Review 18 for HL-2170W
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Easy Set Up, A Little Plastic-y
Date:July 7, 2010
By mikewb75
from Michigan
While the ease of set up was great, there are features on this printer that are not so much. Overall, the product feels cheaply made. I work in an office, and when I took it out of the box, my initial reaction was that it was only going to last a week. The evelope/manual feeder leaves a lot to be desired. If you print alot of envelopes or manually feed a lot, DO NOT BUY this printer. For the two major faults, this printer does print quickly.
Expertise: Professional or Expert
Use: Home Office (Business Use)
Brother products owned: 2
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Review 19 for HL-2170W
Overall Rating:
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out of
5
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Speedy Printer
Date:July 6, 2010
By talex5
from Fort Walton Beach, FL
This is a very fast printer which I'm very happy with. I went through the toner cartridge which came with the prnter very quickly. I'm hoping the replacement cartridge will last much longer. I'm using the "save toner" mode now and can certainly tell the difference in print quality. I switch back for important documents. Overall, I'm very satisfied; just wish it didn't use toner so quickly.
The instructions for setting up wireless with my laptop were a bit unclear, but the customer sevice help number walked me through it very easily. I like the wireless printing from my other computers.
The instructions for setting up wireless with my laptop were a bit unclear, but the customer sevice help number walked me through it very easily. I like the wireless printing from my other computers.
Expertise: Casual User
Use: Home (Personal Use)
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Review 20 for HL-2170W
Overall Rating:
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out of
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Excellent Product
Date:July 6, 2010
By Marion
from Los Angeles, CA
Great product, great price with great performance. It comes handy when printing from our lap tops around the house. Prints good copies. I just bought another Brother printer (MFC9120CN) because I am very happy with this product and customer service. Easy to set-up too. Got it running in minutes.
Expertise: Professional or Expert
Use: Home Office (Business Use)
Brother products owned: 2
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